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Whether you’re in a last-minute grind to get home or about to leave for a dream trip of a lifetime, travel rewards remain one of the best ways to book travel on short notice.
Some of the most desirable and valuable points and miles awards tend to magically appear just a few weeks or even days before departure.
Today, we’ll look at a few real examples where points and miles come to the rescue on last-minute bookings.
Last-minute return home
Two years ago, my mom and I urgently needed to fly back from Europe to San Francisco due to an unforeseen situation.
Originally, we booked our trip using American Express Membership Rewards® points I had earned from a welcome bonus from the American Express® Gold Card, which I transferred to Flying Blue for a KLM flight. However, Flying Blue didn’t have acceptable flight options with two available seats from Brussels (BRU) on such short notice.
Searching on Google Flights for alternatives, I found that one-way airfare rates back to San Francisco were exorbitant, at around $3,000 per person for economy class. Yet, United Airlines had a flight from Brussels (BRU) to San Francisco (SFO) via Chicago-O’Hare (ORD) departing within a few hours.
Although the cash rate seemed unreasonably high, there were two Polaris business-class seats available for just 62,800 MileagePlus miles plus approximately $50 in taxes and fees each. Oddly, economy-class seats were priced at 70,000 miles.
With an additional expense of about $100, I quickly booked the two business-class seats back to San Francisco, totaling 125,600 miles for my mom and me. Had we purchased these seats with cash, it would have amounted to around $15,000.
After returning home, I contacted Flying Blue and successfully had my miles redeposited without any penalty, with all taxes and fees refunded.
In this instance, points and miles came to the rescue. This flexibility allowed us to change our flights without forfeiting points or cash. Since the pandemic, most major US airlines and numerous European carriers have reduced or dropped cancellation and change fees for all award tickets.
This policy shift can translate to significant savings, potentially amounting to hundreds or even thousands of dollars in unforeseen circumstances before or during a trip.
Booking Lufthansa first class
Lufthansa’s Miles & More members enjoy early access to booking first-class awards, subject to capacity controls. However, there have been significant limitations for those redeeming partner (i.e., United MileagePlus or Air Canada Aeroplan) miles for Lufthansa first class.
Typically, Lufthansa releases first-class award seats up to 15 days before departure, though not all seats may be available. Availability tends to improve closer to departure and with more seats still unsold.
However, recent reports suggest that Lufthansa may have tightened these restrictions further, now only releasing first-class award space a few days before or on the day of departure.
Nonetheless, if you can rebook your trip to Europe to fly Lufthansa first class if first-class award space is released, it can make for an unforgettable journey.
Top hotels may only be available at the last minute
Many of the most desirable hotels like The St. Regis Bora Bora, The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands and Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme are difficult to book with hotel points.
Often this is because there are very few standard rooms that can be booked on points; however, as check-in nears, hotels often upgrade some guests, which opens standard rooms again.
For example, you can book the next three nights at the St. Regis Bora Bora on points.
Bottom line
While not the most preferable option, delaying the booking of flights and hotels until a week or two before departure can be a great way to fulfill your bucket list travel aspirations.
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